Home Depot May Back Out of Harlem, N.Y., Site

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The Home Depot may be close to abandoning its long-anticipated store at the East River Plaza in Harlem, a major new retail development from Forest City Ratner and Blumenfeld Development Group, according to a report in Crain’s New York Business.

Home Depot confirmed that it is rethinking the location, even though it has already signed a lease.

“We are re-evaluating this site to determine if it still makes sense for our business,” Jennifer King, a senior manager of public relations at Atlanta-based Home Depot, told the publication. She added that a final decision has not been made.

Construction on East River Plaza is slated to wrap up by fall 2009. It is located at the former Washburn Wire Factory site on about six acres between East 116th and East 119th Streets and adjacent to Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive.